Nicktoons Golden Collection
The Nicktoons Golden Collection was an annual series of six four-disc DVD box sets from Paramount's home video unit Paramount Home Entertainment containing many episodes with its original theatrical titles. Overview The Golden Collection series was launched in the aftermath of the success of the Walt Disney Treasures series that itself collected archived Disney material and the Looney Tunes Golden Collection. The cartoons included on the set are uncut, unedited, and digitally restored and remastered from the original successive Technicolor film negatives. However, some of the cartoons in these collections are derived from the "Blue Ribbon" reissues (altered from their original versions with their revised front-and-end credit sequences), as the original titles for these cartoons are presumably lost. Where the original titles, instead of the "Blue Ribbon" titles, still exist, Paramount has taken the "Blue Ribbon" titles out. Beginning with Volume 3, a warning was printed on the packaging explaining that the collection is intended for adults and the content may not be suitable for children. This goes along with a singular disclaimer text card similar to Goldberg's spoken disclaimer preceding the first cartoon when "Play" is selected. The DVDs also feature several special features. Releases Volume 1 Volume 1 contains many cartoons from the 1990s. Disc-by-disc breakdown *Disc one is dedicated to Rugrats *Disc two is dedicated to Real Monsters *Discs three and four consist of random shorts featuring other characters. Statistics *Many cartoons on this collection were released no earlier than 1996 and thus have been part of Nick's own television packages. Some cartoons were released prior to that date and thus were part of the Associated Artists Productions (a.a.p.) television package. *Some of the creditless Blue Ribbons in the former package are featured with restored title cards. *The Rugrats dominate the set. In addition to having their own disc, they appear on some cartoons spread across the other three discs . *Many character debuts are on this set:. *There are a few edited cartoons to be restored and unedited on the set. Volume 2 Volume 2 (released on November 2, 2004) contains a broader selection of cartoons from the 1990s Disc-by-disc breakdown *Disc one, as in the first edition, contains all Rugrats cartoons. *Disc two has Ren and Stimpy shorts, along with other character shorts. *Disc three contains Doug shorts, along with some other cartoons *Disc four is an all-stars disc, though there is some co-relation between each cartoon on the disc: they are either musicals (with lots of singing), Hollywood parodies, set on a stage, or incorporate other forms of show-business. Statistics *Some of the cartoons on the set were in Nick's own television packages (released 1996 or later), while the amount of a.a.p.-owned cartoons (released before 1996). *The Rugrats, despite appearing in fewer cartoons in this set, still have the most representation. *This volume was the first to contain creditless Blue Ribbons released as such - in other words, their original credits were not found. *Despite that, some Blue Ribboned cartoons did get restored to their original form on this set. *The number of one-shots on the set is 7, up from 1 on the last set. *There are fewer character debuts are on the set. *Many edited for content cartoons are unedited for this set. Volume 3 Volume 3 contains a selection of cartoons (from the Nicktoons era and the Pinwheel era) mostly from the 1980s and 1990s, but with some from the late 90's. Disc-by-disc breakdown *Disc one, as with previous volumes, is all Rugrats. *Disc two features Hollywood caricatures and parodies. *Disc three mainly concerns the Real Monsters, with a few other monster-related cartoons thrown in. *Disc four is the all-stars disc. Statistics *A large amount of the Nicktoons cartoons came from the a.a.p. package - more than any other set. The other Nicktoons cartoons were in Nick's own packages. The Pinwheel cartoons were in the Sunset Productions package. *The Rugrats remain the most-represented characters. *A few Blue Ribboned cartoons has their original titles restored. Those have incorrect ending music though due to the soundtrack being sourced from the Viacom "dubbed versions". *There are a few more character debuts are on this set. *A handful of edited for content cartoons have been unedited for this release. Volume 4 Volume 4 contains selections ranging from the 1980s to the 2000s. Disc-by-disc breakdown *Disc one continues the tradition of the all-Rugrats disc. *Disc two is dedicated to Klasky Csupo, Inc. *Disc three contains only Rocko's Modern Life cartoons. *Disc four consists of cartoons starring the Wild Thornberrys, with other adventuring cartoons thrown in for good measure. Statistics *Some Nicktoons were in Nick's own television packages. The remaining cartoons were in a.a.p. package. All Pinwheel cartoons were in the Sunset Productions package. *The Rugrats keep the title as the most-represented character. *Klasky Csupo, with help from their own disc, is the most-represented company on this set. *A few character debuts are on this set. *There is only a few little shorts that are edited for content unedited for this release. Some will be described on the next volume, and some people need help putting them in the pre-5 volumes. *This set features the first cartoons with the "Abstract NICK" titles to be restored. Volume 5 Volume 5 is the next-to-last volume to be released, with Nicktoons and Pinwheel cartoons. Disc-by-disc breakdown *Disc one features Doug, Rugrats and Ren and Stimpy, all which debuted on August 11, 1991. This is the first time that the first disc is not entirely dedicated to the Rugrats, now sharing the spotlight with Doug and Ren and Stimpy. *Disc two contains cartoons involving magical surprises and visitors. *Disc three honors the work of company Spümcø. *Disc four features cartoons - all from the Pinwheel era (the first such disc in the NGC). Statistics *Some of the featured Nicktoons cartoons are from the a.a.p. package, while the others were in Nick-owned packages. All Pinwheel cartoons are from the Sunset Productions package. *Bugs Bunny, with only 13 shorts, is no longer the most-represented character. That title now goes to Porky Pig, with 17 cartoons on this set. *Spümcø, helped in part by their own disc, is the most-represented company on this set. *Two handfuls of edited for content cartoons have been unedited for this release such as: Ren's Toothache, Haunted House, Big Baby Scam, The Cat That Laid the Golden Hairball, Tooth or Dare, and Eat My Cookies. Volume 6 Volume 6(released on October 21, 2008) concludes the entire series of the Golden Collection. The ratio of color to black-and-white cartoons (41 to 19) is the same as the previous volume. This volume contains such popular shorts as *''Hare Trigger'' *''Bear Feat'' *''Norman Normal'' *''Satan's Waitin''' *''Herr Meets Hare'' Disc-by-disc breakdown *Disc one is an all-star disc comprising cartoons from various characters. *Disc two (Patriotic Pals) is a war-themed disc, primarily featuring shorts released during World War II. *Disc three, which is all black-and-white, focuses on the early days of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, and features many shorts with Bosko and Buddy. *The fourth and final disc is filled with the most requested shorts (all one-shots). In addition, there are 20 bonus cartoons, including various Warner Bros. shorts and several shorts directed by Friz Freleng for MGM in the late 1930s. Statistics *Among restored cartoons in the main program: 24 of the color cartoons were in WB's television packages. A total of 23 cartoons (17 color and 6 black-and-white) are in the a.a.p. package. The rest of the black-and-white cartoons are in the Sunset Productions package. *This set is the first not to contain a disc at least partially dedicated to Bugs Bunny. In fact, not counting bonus cartoons, this set has the fewest Bugs cartoons with only 2. *Sylvester and Bosko, with 6 cartoons each, are the most-represented characters on this set. *Chuck Jones, with 17 cartoons, regains his title as most-represented director on this set. *This set has the first Harman/Ising-era cartoons to be restored for DVD release. 12 H/I cartoons are featured on this set. *Three character debuts are on this set: Buddy's Day Out (Buddy), Hare Trigger (Yosemite Sam), and You Don't Know What You're Doin'! (Piggy). *A record-shattering 15 cartoons from the public domain are restored for this release: The Booze Hangs High, Bosko the Doughboy, Congo Jazz, Crowing Pains, Daffy - The Commando, The Ducktators, Fifth Column Mouse, Meet John Doughboy, One More Time, Page Miss Glory, Rookie Revue, Smile, Darn Ya, Smile!, To Duck or Not To Duck, We're in the Money, and You Don't Know What You're Doin'! *''Crowing Pains'' is the only creditless Blue Ribbon to have its original titles restored on this set. *''All Growed Up'' is the first cartoon from the 2001–present era to be restored for DVD release. *There are 27 one-shots on this set - more than any other volume.